China Conducts Another Flight Test Of Hypersonic Strike Vehicle

Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), (AFP Photo / Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA)

China Conducts Third Flight Test of Hypersonic Strike Vehicle -- Washington Free Beacon

Missile-launched Wu-14 glide vehicle designed for nuclear strike against U.S. through missile defenses

China conducted the third flight test of a new hypersonic missile this week as part of its strategic nuclear program and efforts to develop delivery vehicles capable of defeating U.S. countermeasures, defense officials said.

The flight test of the developmental Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle was monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies Tuesday during a flight test in western China.

The latest flight test followed earlier tests of the Wu-14 on Jan. 9 and Aug. 7. The three tests indicate that China’s development of a strike vehicle capable of traveling up to eight times the speed of sound is a high-priority element in China’s large-scale military buildup.

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More News On China Conducting Another Flight Test Of Its Hypersonic Strike Vehicle

China’s hypersonic strike vehicle ‘in 3d test flight’ -- RT
China’s New Hypersonic Strike Vehicle Takes Flight Again -- Sputnik
China Tests Developmental Hypersonic Mach 10 Missile Vs US Defenses, US Urged To Keep Up -- IBTimes

Russia To Develop Hypersonic Missiles

Lockheed's hypersonic missile concept. Lockheed Martin

Russia Will Build First Hypersonic Missile Before 2020 -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

A senior official at a Russian defense company said the country will build its first hypersonic missile before 2020.

Russia will build its first hypersonic missile by 2020, according to local state media.

On Thursday Sputnik News Agency, RIA Novosti’s new international brand, cited a senior official at a state-owned Russian defense company as saying that Russia would build its first air-launched hypersonic missiles before 2020.

“In my estimation, the first hypersonic products should appear … in this decade — before 2020. We have approached this. We are talking about speeds of up to six to eight Mach. Achieving higher speeds is a long term perspective,” Sputnik quoted Boris Obnosov, general director of the Tactical Missile Systems Corporation, as saying on Thursday.

He made the remarks to journalists at the Zhuhai’s Air Show in China this week.

Also citing Obnosov, the report added that Russia’s “hypersonic missiles will be air-launched at first, using the carrier aircraft’s initial velocity to reach the speeds necessary to run a ramjet engine.”

Previously, Obnosov has said that Russia would test its first hypersonic missile by 2020.

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Update: Russia To Build First Air-Launched Hypersonic Missiles By 2020: Report -- IBTimes

My Comment: The Russians are behind the U.S. and China in developing this technology .... The US And China Are In A Race To Develop Next-Generation Hypersonic Missiles (Business insider) .... but the hypersonic arms race is clearly now on.

U.S. Army’s Experimental Hypersonic Missile Test Exploded Four Seconds After Takeoff

The U.S. Army’s Advanced Hypersonic Weapon took off for the first time in November 2011 from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, pictured above. A second test of it Monday from the military’s Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska took an unexpected turn when the weapon exploded four seconds after takeoff. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)

The Army’s Experimental Hypersonic Missile Just Exploded Four Seconds After Takeoff -- Washington Post

The U.S. Army is in the process of developing something it calls the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon to strike targets anywhere on Earth within hours while reaching speeds of at least Mach 5 — that’s 3,600 mph or greater. But the latest test just ran into a major snag: For reasons yet to be determined, the weapon and the rockets propelling it exploded about four seconds after lifting off early Monday from a missile range in Alaska, Pentagon officials say.

The missile and its three-stage rocket booster system fell back on the Kodiak Launch Complex, a commercial facility on Kodiak Island, about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage. “Fortunately, no one was injured,” said Maureen Schumann, a spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

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More News On The U.S. Army’s Experimental Hypersonic Missile Test Failure

The Army's Hypersonic Missile Just Exploded -- AP
Army's hypersonic missile fails during test -- Army Times
US hypersonic missile test failed shortly after takeoff -- Flight Global
Experimental U.S. hypersonic weapon explodes during flight test -- Reuters
US military destroys hypersonic weapon after aircraft problem detected -- The Guardian
U.S. Hypersonic Weapon Test Ends in Failure -- Space News
Hypersonic Weapon Developed by US Military Explodes After Lift-Off Due to 'Malfunction' -- IBTimes
Army hypersonic weapon explodes during flight test -- al.com
Army Hypersonic Missile Fails in Second Test -- Washington Free Beacon
'Anomaly' Spoils U.S. Army's Hypersonic Missile Test -- NBC

China’s Second Hypersonic Glider Test Fails On It's Second Attempt

China’s Second Hypersonic Glider Test Fails As PLA Trials Nuclear Weapons Delivery System -- South China Morning Post

The People's Liberation Army has carried out a second, albeit unsuccessful test of a hypersonic vehicle, two sources close to the military said, as China attempts to find a way to deliver nuclear weapons at immense speed to evade defence systems.

The test was carried out on August 7 at a missile and satellite launching centre in Shanxi province, about 300 kilometres from its capital Taiyuan, said the sources, who asked not be named.

The vehicle broke up soon after it was launched. It was the second time the PLA has tested the system, the two sources said.

The first test took place on January 9, and it was confirmed by the National Defence Ministry as successful a few days later.

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Recent Secret Test Raises Questions That China Is Now Ahead In Developing Hypersonic Strike Weapons

China Secretly Conducts Second Flight Test Of New Ultra High-Speed Missile -- Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle poses major strategic weapons threat

China recently conducted the second flight test of a new, ultra-high-speed missile that is part of what analysts say is Beijing’s global system of attack weapons capable of striking the United States with nuclear warheads.

The latest test of the new hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) known as Wu-14 took place Aug. 7 at a missile facility in western China, said U.S. government officials familiar with details of the test reported in internal channels.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jeffrey Pool said when asked about the test: “We routinely monitor foreign defense activities, however we don’t comment on our intelligence or assessments of foreign weapons systems.”

He added that the Pentagon has encouraged China to adopt greater “transparency” for its defense programs “to avoid miscalculation.”

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My Comment: The problem with the Chinese is that we can never be sure on where they are in developing new weapons. I suspect that the Chinese hypersonic weapons program falls into that category.